Conspiracy movies usually follow one of two main plot lines. In the first, determined investigators uncover evidence of a real plot, and must fight to bring it to public attention. The second cliché is of an increasingly obsessive protagonist who is convinced that a conspiracy is afoot, but is unable to find conclusive evidence or to convince anyone else, succeeding only in turning suspicions upon him/herself. Both plot lines arguably function to quell the conspiratorial anxieties of the audience: the first suggests that webs of intrigue woven by powerful interests will be exposed by principled, dogged truth-seekers; the second dismisses conspiracies as products of obsessive, delusional imaginations.The Parallax View treads a different and more disturbing path.

The movie begins with the assassination of a senator, whose death is rapidly declared "not suspicious in any way" by a shadowy panel of government officials (presumably the inquest board). Frady is tipped off by a frantic ex-girlfriend journalist - also present at the assassination - that witnesses are rapidly dying in suspicious circumstances. Initially skeptical, Frady decides to take the warning seriously when said ex subsequently turns up dead from an unlikely overdose. He discovers a conspiracy far deeper than he imagined possible, but if you are hoping for a conclusion involving a feel-good exposé, you will be disappointed.

The bulk of the movie follows the rugged, extraordinarily resourceful Frady, as he evades assassination while singlehandedly scheming to infiltrate and expose a clandestine organization. Posing as a security company that enlists high-IQ losers with aggressive streaks, the Parallax Corporation seems to be at the centre of a number of dodgy plots. In pursuit of his aims, Frady's frankly ridiculous escapades include thwarting a plane bomb plot (while on the plane), brawling with a corrupt cop in the rushing waters of an opening dam, and successfully passing the recruitment process to actually join Parallax (!) The action borders on slapstick in its absurdity, and the plot is hard to follow in the final third. But charismatic Beatty is very watchable so you don't mind too much. And the startling ending, including some stark and beautiful cinematography of 1970s aesthetic architecture, is grimly satisfying.

For all its silliness, The Parallax View succeeds in evoking paranoid terror far better than producer Alan Pakula's more famous movie, All The President's Men. It also avoids many of the clichés and Hollywood sheen, which can only be a good thing. This movie represents a third, and arguably the purest, approach to the genre - and one that resonates in the current climate of large scale subterfuge: There is a conspiracy, they are out to get you, and they will probably get away with it, too.